Switchgear apparatus



July 30, 1968 H. WALDENBURGER 3,394,601

SWITCHGEAR APPARATUS Filed April 19, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENI OR HERMAN/V WAL DC'NBURGER ATTORNEY- July 30. 1968 H. WALDENBURGER 3,394,601

SWITCHGEAR APPARATUS Filed April 19, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2c

INVENT OR HERMANN WALON8URGR ATTORNEY 3,394,601 SWITCHGEAR APPARATUS Hermann Waldenburg'er, Pforzen, near Kaufbeuren, Germany, assignor to International Standard Electric Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 543,585 v Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 23, 1965,

10 Claims. (Cl. 74-54) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A switch gear apparatus operated by a driving system, wherein two equisized gears are closely mounted on a shaft, these gears have different numbers of teeth and engage an intermediate gear. One gear is stationarily mounted and the other gear is axially displaceable and tiltable so as to actuate a pair of contacts.

.tatiugly actuated. This may become the cause of an unreliable contact-making, and of an increased burning 01f.

Moreover, there is also known a planetary gearing comprising two equisized gears with different numbers of teeth, of which the one is stationary, and the other one is rotatably pivoted, and in which the driving is effected via a rotating intermediate gear.

The invention is based on the idea of converting such a planetary gearing in such a way, and of providing it with additional means, that a high reduction and a rapid contact actuation will become achievable in a simple manner.

The present invention is characterized by the fact that on a shaft, which is actuated by the driving system, two gears have their surfaces placed closely together. Each of these gears has a different number of teeth, and each is connected via an intermediate gear mounted on a stationary shaft. One of said gears being seated firmly on the shaft, while the other one is seated on the same shaft in an axially displaceable and tiltable manner. The inner surface of one gear has a semi-circular groove, while the inner surface of the other gear has a cam guided in said semicircular groove of the other gear, and actuating means are provided on the outside surface of the non-stationary gear for actuating the contacts.

Both the construction and the mode of operation of an exemplified embodiment of the inventive type of switchgear apparatus will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows the apparatus in an exploded view, and

FIGS. 2a to 20 show the various phases of movement during the actuation of the contacts.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the reference numeral 1 indicates a shaft which is operated via a Worm gear 2 and a pinion gear 3 by the driving system. At the free end of the shaft 1, a gear 4 is mounted with the aid of set screws 5. A second. gear 6, which is of the same size, but which has either a larger or smaller number of teeth, is pressed by the collar 7 of the shaft 1 and with the States Patent aid of a spring 8, against the gear 4. The center boss 9 of gear 6 is provided with an enlarged bore and is slotted in one direction thus allowing it to be tilted. At the holder 3,394,601 Patented July 30, 1968 10, and on a shaft 11, there is pivoted an intermediate gear 12 which engages the teeth of the gears 4 and 6. The inner surface of the gear 4 is provided with a cam 13, and the inner surface of the gear 6 is provided with a semicircular groove 14. Moreover, on the outer surface of gear 6, and at differently large diameters, there are arranged the earns 15 and 16 serving to actuate the terminating contacts 17 and 18.

As soon as the shaft 1 is driven by the worm 2, the gears 4 and '6, which are in connection via the intermediate gear 12, are rotated at almost the same speed. Due to the different number of teeth, however, there results a slight difference'in the speed of the wheels with respect to one another. If the mechanism to be actuated is positioned between the end positions then, as is shown in FIG. 2a, the cam 13 is positioned in the groove 14. The cams 15 and 16 are thus led past the contacts 17 and 18 without actuating them. At approximately one rotation of the shaft 1 prior to reaching the one end position of the drive, the cam 13 is lifted out of the groove 14 and, as is shown in FIG. 2b, effects a sideway tilting of the gear 6. During the completion of this rotation, e.g. the cam 16 meets against the contact 18. This is performed at the circumferential speed as given by the number of revolutions of the shaft 1, and not at the very low difference in speed of the gears 4 and 6, resulting in contact 18 being rapidly and reliably switched, and the driving system coming to a standstill.

During the return movement, towards the other end position, the cam 13 will drop back into the groove 14 after the rotation of the shaft has not been fully completed, which will then result in the condition as shown in FIG. 2a. Again approximately one rotation prior to reaching the opposite end position, the gears 4 and 6 have been turned to such an extent with respect to one another, thatthe cam 13 is again lif-ted out of the groove 14, thus tilting the gear 6 in such a way that it, with its cam '15, will meet against the contact 17, thus actuating the latter and causing the driving system to be switched off.

As indicated in the introduction to the specification, gearing of equal diameter but with different numbers of teeth are utilized in planetary gearings. In the case under consideration, the gear 4 comprises seventy teeth, the gear 6 sixty-eight teeth, and the intermediate gear 12 comprises twenty-four teeth. When using these ratios, it is possible to select the tooth profiles in such a way that the gears 4 and 6 firmly engage one another (i.e. are in a snug fit) via the intermediate gear 12. There will not be jamming of the gears 4 and 6, because the gear 4 is seated on shaft 1 so that it can be turned and tilted.

To better understand the sequences of movement during the actuation of contact 18 in the one end position, and of the contact 17 in the other end position of a tape driving system, the following illustrates some numerical values used in a switch-gear apparatus according to the invention:

(a) Normal p0sition.The actuating means of the contact 18 is positioned in the centre of the cam 16 of the gear 6.

(b) After an angle of rotation of the shaft 1 and of the gear 6, of about 5 in the clockwise direction, the cam 16 has left the contact 18, contact 18 opens.

(0) After about half a rotation and due to the differential movement of the gears 4 and 6, the cam 13 on the inside of the gear 4 engages the groove 14 which is provided on the inside of the gear 6.

(d) After 9 /2 rotations of the shaft 1 the cam 13 has reached the opposite end of the groove 14 and starts to tilt the gear 6.

(e) After a /4 rotation out of position d, the cam 15 reaches the actuating means of the contact 17. V

(f) After an angle of rotation of 5 out of the position e,

the contact 17 is actuated.

Accordingly, the actuation of the contact is effected at the circumferential of gear 6 whose number of rotations is about 10 times higher than its differential movement.

The invention is in no way restricted merely to the actuation of terminating or end contacts, but may be analogously applied to all cases where, in spite of a high reduction, a rapid control and actuation of contacts is supposed to be made possible.

While the above principles of the invention have been described in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of the invention, as set forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. Switch gear apparatus for actuation of contacts comprising:

a drive shaft mounted for rotation;

driving means for rotating the drive shaft;

a pair of equisized gears having different numbers of teeth, one of said gears is seated on said shaft in a stationary manner and the other of said gears is mounted adjacent said stationary gear in an axially displaceable and tiltable manner;

an intermediate gear engaging said pair and rotatably mounted on a shaft;

said stationary gear having a cam on its inner surface, and said axially displace'able and tiltable gear having on its adjacent inner surface a coincident groove into which said cam is periodically engaged;

means coupled between said axially displaceable and tiltable gear and said drive shaft urging the inner surfaces of said pair together; and

actuating means arranged on the outer surface of said axially displaceable and tiltable gear;

whereby, due to the difference in the number of teeth of said pair engaging said intermediate gear during the rotation of said drive shaft, said cam is caused to periodically disengage from said coincident groove resulting in the axial displacement and tilting of said displaceable and tiltable gear, and said means actuates said contacts.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the outer surface of said axiallyfldisplaceable and tiltable gear includes a slotted boss centrically located with respect to said actuating means, to permit the tilting of said gear.

'3. Apparatus according to claim 2 including a collar which is pressed onto said driving shaft against a shoulder located adjacent said boss.

'4. Apparatus according to claim 3 further including a spring, one .end of said spring being retained by said collar and the other end of said spring surrounding said boss, such that said spring urges the inner surfaces of said pair together.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said actuating means is a pair of diametrically located cam surfaces, that during the axial displacement and tilting of said displaceable and tiltable gear, one of said cam surfaces is caused to activate one of said contacts, and that on further rotation of said drive shaft, the other of said cam surf-aces actuates the other of said contacts.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, further including a holder for mounting said drive shaft and for mounting the shaft of said intermediate gear.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said drive means comprises:

a pinion gear attached to said shaft; and

a worm gear being positioned to engage said pinion gear to cause rotation of said pair of gears.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 further including a plurality of set screws located in said stationary gear for fixing the position of said stationary gear on said driving shaft.

9. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said groove is a semicircular groove.

10. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said diametrically located cam surfaces are located on a larger diameter than said groove.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,528,344 10/1950 Davis 74568 FRED C. MATTERN, 1a., Primary Examiner.

W. S. RATLIFF, Assistant Examiner. 

